Fishing the North Coast: It's all about the salmon

Eureka resident Brian Viale landed this 40-plus pound halibut last Thursday while fishing out of Eureka. Viale's was fishing with three buddies, who each landed a halibut as well.. The weather for last Thursday's opener was a little off the mark and not many fish were caught. Friday's ocean was about perfect, and quite a few boats were able to land fish and some boats were able to score limits.

Come Saturday morning at first light, those chrome, shiny, silver bullets swimming in our coastal waters will go from hunters to the hunted as the much-anticipated sport salmon season opens in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. To say the North Coast sport fleet is a little gung-ho would probably be a gross understatement. You can cut the excitement with an extra-dull filet knife. And the reason for all the optimism -- other than the fact it's been roughly seven months since the last sport salmon came over the rail -- I can think of about 933,000 of them. That's the number of adult salmon the Pacific Fisheries Management Council has forecasted to be available for anglers from the Bay Area north to the Oregon border. Though 933,000 salmon pales in comparison to 2012's record abundance of 2.4 million, there's still more than enough fall Chinook to provide substantial fishing opportunities. With halibut season opening on the first, the hope was the boats would be able to do some scouting prior to the salmon opener. And that was certainly the case, until the north winds blew through earlier in the week, effectively removing all the intel like a 5 year-old erasing artwork from an Etch A Sketch. If the forecast holds for Thursday and Friday, boats should be back on the water drifting for halibut as well as looking for signs of salmon. Prior to the big blow, there were reports of bait balls and birds from the 54 to the 57-line in 250-plus feet of water. The wind certainly shuffled the deck said Tim Klassen, who runs Reel Steel Sport Fishing out of Eureka's Woodley Island. "We definitely needed the north wind to blow, the water temps were a little warm for salmon. Hopefully it was enough to kick-start the upwelling and cool the water," Klassen added.

Crescent City salmon outlook

Chris Hegnes of Crescent City's Englund Marine reports there's some "fishy" looking water south of Crescent City. "What I've been hearing from the commercial guys is there's some really good signs from the Sister south to Wilson Creek on the 25 fathom line. That would probably be a good place to start," Hegnes added.

Weekend Marine forecast

The ocean might be a little bumpy this weekend. The forecast from Cape Mendocino to Pt.St. George out 10 nautical miles is calling for north winds 5 to 15 knots with waves out of the west 6 feet at 11 seconds on Saturday. Sunday's forecast is similar, with winds out of the north 5 to 15 knots and NW waves 5 feet at 9 seconds. These conditions can and will change. For up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484.

Weekend tides

The tidal exchanges will be very moderate this weekend, making for an easier bar crossing. If you're planning on hitting the bar at daylight, always check the conditions first. To monitor the latest Humboldt bar conditions, visit www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/swan. The bar cam, located at www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/barCam/?cam=humboldtBayBar, was unavailable as of Wednesday. Sat. May 10 (High: 9:30 a.m. and 9:46 p.m.) (Low: 3:34 a.m. and 3:18 p.m.) Sun. May 11 (High: 10:26 a.m. and 10:22 p.m.) (Low: 4:18 a.m. and 4:01 p.m.)

Trinidad boat launch

Trinidad has been launching boats since last weekend, but best to call ahead at 707-825-3728. Salty's Supply Co. in Trinidad is also a great resource and can be reached at 707-677-0300 or online at www.saltystrinidad.com.

General sport salmon regulations:

Our 2014 ocean sport salmon season runs from May 10 through September 7 and is open from Humbug Mountain, OR south to Horse Mountain, CA. The daily bag limit is 2 salmon of any species except Coho, with a minimum size limit of 24 inches. The possession limit has changed this year and is now no more than two daily bag limits in possession while on land. On a vessel in ocean waters, no person shall possess or bring ashore more than one daily bag limit. No salmon punch card is required for ocean salmon fishing. For complete ocean salmon regulations, please visit the Ocean Salmon webpage at www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/oceansalmon.asp or call the Ocean Salmon Regulations Hotline (707) 576-3429.

Gear restrictions:

North of Pt. Conception: No more than two (2) single-point, single-shank barbless hooks shall be used and no more than one rod per angler when fishing for salmon or fishing from a boat or floating device with salmon on board. Horse Mt. to Pt. Conception: When fishing with bait and angling by any other means than trolling, no more than two (2) single-point, single-shank barbless circle hooks shall be used. The distance between the two hooks must not exceed five (5) inches when measured from the top of the eye of the top hook to the inner base of the curve of the lower hook and both hooks must be permanently tied in place (hard tied). Barbless hooks are required and anglers are limited to one rod per person when salmon fishing or when fishing from a boat with salmon on board.

Important reminder:

When fishing for halibut, rockfish (opens May 15), and salmon, or any combination of the three, the more restrictive gear and depth restrictions apply. When targeting salmon, or once salmon are aboard and in possession, anglers are limited to using barbless hooks (barbless circle hooks if fishing south of Horse Mountain) when fishing for other species. When targeting rockfish, cabezon, greenling and lingcod, or once any of these species are aboard and in possession, anglers are limited to fishing in waters shallower than 120 feet when fishing for other species.

Halibut opener

Last Thursday's opener was somewhat of a bust due to the weather. Turns out the ocean was quite a bit rougher than predicted, and most boats made a short day of it. Conditions improved dramatically on Friday and Saturday, and lots of limits were reported. According to Klassen, they fished a total of two hours on Saturday for four limits. A very good sign for the season ahead. Big salmon and halibut contests Eureka's Englund Marine is once again holding its annual Big Salmon contest. The salmon event runs from May 10 to September 7. All fish must be gilled and gutted prior to weigh- in and there is no entry fee or pre-registration required. There will be prizes for the top three fish in each category. For all the rules and regulations, visit Englund Marine at 2 Commercial St., or call (707) 444-9266.

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